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US And Germany United In Russia Warning

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 03 Mei 2014 | 16.15

Germany and the US appear to have hardened their line on potential sanctions on Russia.

This is surprising and raises the stakes for what happens in the region.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Barack Obama both set a new threshold for action over Ukraine after meeting at the White House on Friday.

More severe "sectoral sanctions" have been held in reserve until now. Both leaders previously warning they could be used to punish a Russian military invasion.

But they are now threatening their use if elections in Ukraine on May 25 are disrupted.

Russian President Vladimir Putin Putin warned of "consequences" over military action

In the run up to their meeting much had been made of differences between the two allies.

German industry has been vigorously lobbying the Chancellor not to impose more severe sanctions. Germany is closer to Russia and has more trade than America, meaning it has more to lose than the US.

There have been differences of opinion on the degree to which sanctions should be ramped up. But if the two leaders are sincere in the warning issued to Russia from the White House Rose Garden those divisions have not prevented agreement on when more stringent sanctions should next be imposed.

Until now, sanctions have targeted individuals and some companies and banks. Assets have been frozen, visa bans imposed.

The White House has talked up the impact on the Russian economy. Others have pointed out it was heading in a negative direction before all this started.

But sectoral sanctions would be far more punishing, They would target entire sectors of the Russian economy - banking, mining, financial services, for instance.

It would hurt Russia, but its trading partners too.

While sceptics will question how much Mr Obama and Ms Merkel mean what they say, it is still significant that they said it.

A variety of factors may be pushing them closer.

UKRAINE-RUSSIA-POLITICS-CRISIS-SLAVYANSK Ukraine has launched a major offensive against pro-Russian forces

The German chancellor is reportedly furious about the continued detention of OSCE observers, some of them German, by pro-Russian separatists in Eastern Ukraine.

The US president poured scorn on Russian actions and propaganda, ridiculing the claim what is happening in Eastern Ukraine is a local protest.

Local protestors, he said, generally do not have the capacity to shoot down helicopters. The president knows recent polls show the Ukraine situation is weakening his popularity and approval ratings.

The German-US response makes escalation more likely.

It is hard to see how the May 25 elections can avoid disruption given the takeover of towns in the east of the country and the presence of shadowy militia.


16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Over 2,000 Confirmed Dead In Afghan Landslide

More than 2,000 people have been confirmed dead in a landslide in Afghanistan after part of a hill above a village collapsed.

A village in Badakshan province, which borders Tajikistan in the country's northeast, has been buried in more than 300ft of mud (100 metres).

"More than 2,100 people from 300 families are all dead," Naweed Forotan, a spokesman for the Badakshan provincial governor, told the Reuters news agency.

Hundreds of mud brick homes were destroyed when two landslides, triggered by torrential rain, hit Hobo Barik, in Argo district.

The village of Hobo Barik in Afghanistan, which was hit by a landslide. Hundreds of mud brick homes were destroyed in the village

At least 100 people have been injured.

The side of the mountain collapsed as villagers were trying to recover belongings and livestock follow a smaller landslip a few hours earlier.

Villagers and dozens of police officers equipped with only basic digging tools began searching for survivors from first light on Saturday.

But it quickly became apparent there was no hope of finding anyone.

A mother and children displaced by the landslide in Afghanistan. Four thousand people have been displaced

The United Nations says the focus is now on the more than 4,000 people who have been displaced by the disaster.

A memorial service is planned for later today, and the site is expected to be designated as a mass grave, according to UN spokesman Ari Gaitanis.

He added the survivors need water, medical support, counselling, food and emergency shelter.

Hundreds camped out overnight in near freezing temperatures, although some were provided with tents. Food and water have also been distributed.

Villagers dig and sift through the mud after a landslide hit the village of Hobo Barik in Afghanistan. The US and the Nato-led coalition in Afghanistan have offered to send help

There are also fears another section of the mountainside could collapse, threatening the homeless and hundreds of rescue workers.

The Afghan military flew rescue teams to the search area today, because the remote mountain region is served by only narrow, poor roads that have been damaged by more than a week of heavy rain.

NATO-led coalition troops are ready to assist, but have not yet been asked for help by the Afghan government.

US President Barack Obama has also offered to send help.

Seasonal rains and spring snow melt have brought destruction to large parts of northern Afghanistan, killing more than 100 people.


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Ukraine: Observers Freed Amid New Offensive

Military observers kept prisoner in Ukraine for more than a week have been released, the leader of pro-Russian insurgents in Slavyansk has confirmed.

The seven observers and their five assistants, from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, were seized in the eastern city on April 25.

Vyacheslav Ponomarev, the self-appointed 'people's mayor' of Slavyansk, said they had now all been set free.

Russian authorities are likely to have intervened to broker their release, said Sky News' Chief Correspondent Stuart Ramsay.

OSCE observers Two of the observers pictured while they were being held in Slavyansk

The separatists had previously accused the observers of being "Nato spies" and said they were to be used as human shield.

A prisoner-swap was thought likely, although they were released today without any conditions.

The release comes as Ukrainian forces launched a dawn military operation against separatists in the east of the country as bloody clashes show no sign of letting up.

A pro-Russian activist aims a pistol at supporters of the Kiev government in Odessa A pro-Russian activist fires a gun during clashes with rivals

Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said Ukrainian forces had seized control of a television tower in Kramatorsk, near the rebel stronghold of Slavyansk where there was heavy fighting on Friday.

"We are not stopping," Mr Avakov wrote on his Facebook page, but gave no information on casualties.

The violence came hours after 31 people died after a building in Odessa was set on fire during clashes between protesters.

Police said some people inside the trade union building were overcome by smoke and others were killed jumping from windows as they tried to escape.

Pro-Russian and pro-Kiev activists fought running battles as the southern port city saw some of its worst violence since President Victor Yanukovych was ousted in February.

A protester throws a petrol bomb at the trade union building in Odessa A protester throws a petrol bomb at the trade union building in Odessa

The fire started as the Kiev government began a major offensive against pro-Russian activists who have seized government buildings in the east of the country.

Russia said it was "outraged" by the day's events in Odessa and denounced the "criminal irresponsibility" of the pro-Western authorities in Kiev.

Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement that it called on Ukraine and its "Western backers to end the anarchy and take responsibility for the Ukranian people".

It added that Moscow viewed the "tragic events" as a sign of Kiev's "criminal irresponsibility".

At an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council, the UK accused Moscow of "breathtaking" hypocrisy over the latest clashes.

People wait for rescue on an upper storey ledge during a fire at the trade union building in Odessa People wait for rescue on an upper-storey ledge during the fire

The UK's ambassador to the UN Sir Mark Lyall Grant said Russia had "funded, equipped and directed" some of those involved in the insurgency.

"Many" pro-Russian separatists were said to have been killed as the Ukrainian army took control of checkpoints around Slavyansk.

Two Ukrainian soldiers - from the airborne brigade - were also killed as two military helicopters were shot down, acting president Oleksandr Turchynov said.

Russia said Kiev's offensive against the insurgents had "destroyed" the two-week-old Geneva agreement on cooling Ukraine's crisis.

The Ukrainian Security Service said one of the helicopters was shot down with a surface-to-air missile, adding that the sophisticated weapon undermined Russia's claims that Slavyansk was simply under the control of armed locals.

Map of Ukraine

Sky News Chief Correspondent Stuart Ramsay, in Donetsk, said the Ukraine government is in a "very difficult position".

"If they want to take control of these towns they are going to have to put a lot of soldiers on the ground and bring in police from other parts of the country. If that happens it will absolutely be violent – it will only escalate further.

"Russia has made it clear that would be a reason for them to intervene to protect ethnic Russians.

"If Kiev doesn't do that, they are going to see the eastern parts of the country drift away."

Russia has tens of thousands of troops massed near Ukraine's border, and Kiev claims its neighbouring country is preparing to invade and that it is stoking the unrest in the east.

Moscow denies the allegations, but has warned Russia would respond to attacks on Russian citizens or interests in the east, where insurgents have seized government buildings in around a dozen cities in towns.


16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

North Korean Defectors' Harrowing Stories

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 02 Mei 2014 | 16.15

By Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent

In a series of rare and harrowing interviews, defectors have told Sky News of their horrific lives inside North Korea and their extraordinary journeys to escape the country.

The men and women agreed to talk from their new homes in the South Korean capital, Seoul.

Their interviews form part of a special programme to be shown on Sky News this weekend.

Two of the defectors had spent time inside North Korea's notorious political prison camps.

Another was a tank commander in the secretive state's army before managing to escape.

One women describes, for the first time, the torture she endured at the hands of North Korean prison camp guards.

From her Seoul apartment, Cheon YoungSuk sobbed uncontrollably as she recalled the torture.

"With that plank, they hit me until it split into two or they won't stop hitting me. It must split into two. Then the beating stops. They hit me like that, they starved me, kicked me," she said.

Lee SoonShil, a defector from North Korea who made it South Korea. Lee Soon Shil managed to escape from North to South Korea

"During the torture the hardest thing was they made me kneel on a chair. The guard had ridges on the bottom of his shoes. He would stand on my bare skin and start twisting (his feet).

"When bare skin and shoe soles are twisted with pressure it grinds the skin. That was the most hard. That was the time I shouted. It hurt too much.

"Because it hurt too much I shouted to him to grind faster. Twist faster to finish it more quickly.

"They wrapped my hair on their hand and start smashing my face on the corner of the desk.... [they are] crueller than beasts. How could a human do that to another human?"

On Thursday, diplomats addressed the United Nations saying that North Korea must act immediately to halt its "litany of abuses" and "crimes against humanity".

"We note with concern that... human rights violations and crimes against humanity continue to take place with impunity," British UN representative Karen Pierce told the Geneva forum.

North Korea Sky's Mark Stone speaks to a defector in Seoul

North Korea denies the existence of prison camps. It reacted angrily to a United Nations Human Rights Council Commission of Inquiry (COI), published in February.

The COI conducted scores of interviews with defectors all of whom told stories similar to those heard by Sky News.

The UN body concluded that "systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations have been and are being committed" by North Korea.

It said that "the gravity, scale and nature of these violations reveal a state that does not have any parallel in the contemporary world".

It described a catalogue of "unspeakable atrocities" which amounted to "crimes against humanity".

The report is currently being considered at the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York.

The detailed findings of the report were also discussed at informal meeting of the UN Security Council two weeks ago. However, two members of the council, Russia and China, both historically allied to North Korea, failed to attend.

The Defectors - Sky News Special Programme

Speaking after the informal meeting, the chairman of the Commission of Inquiry, retired Australian judge Michael Kirby, said he was disappointed that China and Russia failed to attend but still hoped that the UN would now act against North Korea.

"The time has come for effective action from the United Nations," he said.

"If ever there is to be a case for referral of a matter to the International Criminal Court, it is difficult to imagine a stronger case than has been made out in the case of North Korea.

"If this is not a case for such a referral, it is difficult to imagine what would be."

The level of abuse uncovered in North Korea, both in the UN report and the interviews conducted by Sky News has been compared to some of the abuses during the holocaust of World War Two.

Mr Kirby said that the descriptions he heard reminded him of Holocaust abuses.

He said: "I never thought that in my professional life, my life as a judge or as an officer of the United Nations, I would sit there and hear descriptions that were so similar to the descriptions of what went on in those places.

"I thought we had said as a world community, 'never again'.

"I thought that was what the charter of the United Nations was about. I thought that was why in the charter it speaks of international peace and security and the protection of universal human rights together."


16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

British Fighters Filmed In Syria 'War Crime'

By Tom Rayner, Middle East Reporter

Video has emerged implicating British fighters in Syria in an apparent war crime.

Footage uncovered by researchers at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) shows jihadist rebels killing a prisoner, said to be a loyalist of President Bashar al Assad.

The incident is thought to have happened in the last two weeks near Raqqa in northern Syria.

The footage was posted on the Instagram account of a man believed to be from London.

The caption accompanying the video describes the prisoner as one of "Bashar [al Assad's] dogs" and says the killing was retribution for the deaths of four fellow rebels and the rape of a woman.

The ICSR monitors the social media accounts of hundreds of foreign fighters inside Syria.

British fighters implicated in Syria 'war crime' Researchers say one of the executioners is a Briton seen in other videos

They believe the man that posted the video is part of a group of British fighters, known as Rayat al Tawheed, an affiliate of the Sunni jihadi movement ISIS, which controls large swathes of northern Syria.

Shiraz Maher, a senior ICSR researcher based at King's College London, said the killing of prisoners is a war crime in international law.

"It's incredibly serious," he said.

"We believe the main characters involved with Rayat al Tawheed come from London.

"We have deduced this based on our discussions with foreign fighters, our extensive record-keeping of foreign fighter activity in Syria, and our maintenance of social network maps which allows us to plot activity and associations in a visual form."

British fighters implicated in Syria 'war crime' In one video a British fighter says a bullet is "the pen of the mujahid"

Although no audible English is spoken in the video itself, analysts from the ICSR believe they have identified one of the gunmen as being a British citizen.

A man is seen in the video firing shots into the body of the prisoner in the seconds after the initial bullet was fired by the main shooter.

Analysis of the gunman's physical build, wristwatch and balaclava led the ICSR to conclude he is the same man seen speaking English with a London accent in other videos posted by the group.

"We don't know if the prisoner was alive or dead when he fired, but he did partake in the execution, he did fire shots at the individual from his weapon, and we believe he is a British citizen," said ICSR researcher Joseph Carter.

On two separate videos posted on YouTube, the man identified as the gunman by the ICSR is heard berating the British Muslim community for failing to provide sufficient financial support for the jihad or the families the fighters have left behind.

British fighters implicated in Syria 'war crime' The group lobbies for donations to buy more weapons and ammunition

"You know who you are, from the capital, the Midlands, up north, wherever you may be… it's a disgrace, that brothers know where these wives are, where these families are, and yet you are buying your nephew or your child a PlayStation 4 or taking them out to Nando's," he said.

The Government's counter-terrorism programme last week launched a campaign urging the families of young men planning to travel to Syria to intervene.

It is estimated that up to 400 Britons have travelled to fight or train in Syria in the last two years. 

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "This demonstrates why we have consistently called for the situation in Syria to be referred to the International Criminal Court.

"Horrific atrocities have been committed by both the Assad regime and by extremists. The international community must ensure that all those responsible are held to account.

"Our priority is to dissuade people from travelling, but any extremists should know we are prepared to take action to protect national security, and intelligence agencies and police are working to identify potential threats."


16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ukraine 'In Military Assault On Slavyansk'

A pilot has been killed and others wounded after pro-Russian separatists used anti-aircraft weapons to fight off a dawn raid by Ukrainian forces.

Separatists in Slavyansk said they were fighting back against a "large-scale operation" to retake the city by Ukrainian forces.

Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov confirmed a pilot had been killed and urged local people to stay indoors during the "anti-terrorist operation".

Posting on Facebook, he said the city was "tightly surrounded".

"Against Ukraine's special forces, terrorists used heavy artillery, including grenade launchers and portable anti-aircraft missile launchers.

"One pilot is dead and there are wounded," said Mr Avakov .

Ukraine slavyansk map

A Reuters photographer reported seeing a military helicopter open fire on the outskirts of the town and separatists claimed two aircraft had been shot down.

Mr Avakov said the raid had begun at 4.30am, with soldiers seizing control of nine checkpoints on roads around Slavyansk.

"The goal of our anti-terrorist operation and, at the same time, our demands to the terrorists are simple," he posted.

"Free the hostages, lay down weapons, vacate administrative buildings and get municipal infrastructure back to normal."

Soldier The Ukrainian government claimed it had taken control of some checkpoints

The action in Slavyansk, if confirmed, would mark the first significant military response by Kiev.

Vyacheslav Ponomarev, the insurgency-appointed mayor of Slavyansk, said self-defence forces had shot down two helicopters and taken one pilot hostage.

Ukraine's security service, the SBU, confirmed the hostage reports but said only one Mi-24 helicopter had been shot down - using a shoulder-launched missile.

It said another aircraft had made a forced landing, while a third helicopter carrying medical staff was hit and one person wounded.

Burning wreackage at checkpoint Latest pictures from Slavyansk this morning

A spokesman for the separatists said there had been fighting in several areas around the city, with government armoured vehicles spotted on roads around Slavyansk.

An cameraman for the AP news agency reported seeing black plumes of smoke on the edge of the city and said an emergency siren had sounded at dawn.

The apparent move to retake the city came only hours after Russia staged a huge May Day parade on Moscow's Red Square on Thursday.

It is the first since the Soviet era - with workers holding banners proclaiming support for President Vladimir Putin after the seizure of territory from neighbouring Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials have been criticised for being slow to act to stop the rebels seizing swathes of its Donbass coal and steel belt.

They launched an "anti-terrorist" operation in early April but have resisted large-scale measures so far.

Armed groups seeking union with Russia have seized a number of government buildings in towns in eastern Ukraine.

Russia's President Putin yesterday called on Ukraine to remove its forces from the east and south of the country.

But hours later Ukraine's acting president, Oleksandr Turchynov, ordered that military conscription of men aged 18-25 be restarted because of "threats of encroachment on the nation's territorial integrity".


16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ukraine: Militia Controls A Million Weapons

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 01 Mei 2014 | 16.15

At the end of a completely anonymous road on the outskirts of the eastern Ukrainian town of Artemivsk is the village of Paraskoviyevka.

It has two claims to fame: one of the few still functioning salt mines in the region, and, more importantly, the largest cache of weapons in Europe - over a million of them and they are under the control of separatists.

Outside the gates of the mine, a cluster of tents mark the pro-Russian checkpoint guarding the entrance to this enormous supply of weapons.

The militia say they started guarding the mine in March when efforts were made to move some of the weapons. They say they will not allow anyone to get their hands on them.

But military experts and government sources in Kiev have warned that such a ready supply should not be guarded by groups who wish to separate from the country.

The storage facility was created in the 1950s by the Soviet Union.

About 150 metres below ground and stretching horizontally for kilometres the weapons age back to World War Two but in the 1990s huge numbers of Kalashnikov machine guns were stored in the facility as well.

The men guarding the store say the conditions underground are dry and perfect for storage.

Millions of weapons at salt mine in Ukraine The weapons are held in a storage facility at a salt mine

They say that the armaments, particularly the newer ones, are in perfect working order.

"If anyone got in there they could arm everyone in Ukraine," a masked separatist told me.

He added: "There are rifles, machine guns, heavy weapons and millions and millions of rounds of ammunition. We are here to stop the forces of the west and anyone else for that matter from getting their hands on them.

"For certain the fascists from Kiev won't get them."

The real point of this is that there is absolutely nothing anyone can do to take control of the store from the pro-Russia group.

Soldiers at a nearby camp are powerless here; their authority has gone and do nothing to move the blockade outside the mine.

To a degree this is a perfect microcosm example of what is happening across the east of the country.

Government institutions and police stations in virtually all the main towns and cities have fallen to the pro-Russia militia.

Tents mark the pro-Russian checkpoint guarding the entrance to weapons cache in Ukraine Tents mark the pro-Russian checkpoint guarding the entrance

It is an extremely well-organised takeover. Armed and masked men arrive and disarm police before moving to town halls and regional buildings.

At gunpoint, they impose their authority before civilian activists move in and start building barricades.

Asked who the enemy are, the usual reply is "Fascists from Kiev".

The truth is there isn't a fascist horde wending its way out here.

It is a myth that has been propagated by self-appointed regional leaders with the help of Russian media, whose reporting of events is watched by most people here.

And it is a cross between hysterical warnings of armageddon and comic manipulation of facts and events; comic if people were not dying as a result, which they are.

This is getting increasingly nasty and once again there is nothing anyone can do about it.

Pro-Russian separatist in Ukraine A pro-Russian separatist in Ukraine

In Donestsk, where pro-Kiev supporters have staged rallies of support, people have been beaten senseless and in one instance knifed to death by pro-Russian thugs.

The police do nothing to stop the attacks happening and, worse, there is more than a suspicion that they are in cahoots with the mob.

I have seen riot police clad in full protective gear hugging men who minutes earlier were beating an old man.

The Kiev administration admits its forces in the east are not able to intervene or are failing to do their jobs.

But the police themselves say they are getting no orders or guidance from Kiev.

Even if they don't like what is going on here, and many admit they do, they have no intention of taking a beating, or worse, by stick-wielding groups and armed masked men.

From Kiev, they are warning of an imminent invasion by Russian forces and have put their troops on full alert.

But these soldiers are in truth utterly incapable of resistance to an army, or, as we have seen, even a militia.

Eastern Ukraine is drifting away and it seems there is nothing anyone can do to stop it - just like Crimea.


16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

IMF: Ukraine Crisis Sparks Russia 'Recession'

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned Russia is already in recession as a result of the effects of the crisis in Ukraine.

An economist working for the organisation, Antonio Spilimbergo, made the comment while confirming a huge downgrade in the IMF's growth forecast for 2014 from 1.3% to just 0.2%.

It had predicted the higher growth figure for Russia just three weeks ago.

The move was a response to heightened concerns over the effects of a flight in capital from Russia - expected by the IMF to top $100bn in 2014 alone.

A tightening of sanctions against Russian individuals and firms close to Russian president Vladimir Putin, imposed by the West in response to his annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, was also cited as a core reason for the downgrade.

The tensions surrounding the crisis in Ukraine have pushed relations between Russia and the West to their lowest since the end of the Cold War, sparking a wider flight from risk on world markets.

As the IMF amended its forecasts, Ukraine's acting leader warned his country's forces were on full combat alert in case of a Russia invasion.

Mr Spilimbergo was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying: "If we define recession as negative growth in two quarters in a row, then Russia from that point of view is experiencing recession.

"This all has a very negative effect on the investment climate. We expect that the fall in investments that already took place in 2013 will increase further this year."

Russia's economy contracted by about 0.5% in the first three months of the year compared with the previous quarter.

Standard and Poor's ratings agency on Friday downgraded Russia's ability to repay debt to BBB-, one notch above junk status, and retained its negative outlook.

Mr Spilimbergo, who acts as the IMF's mission chief to Moscow, agreed there were "considerable downside risks" and said the decision by Russia's central bank to raise interest rates last week would reduce inflation but would not be enough.

He argued the depreciation in the rouble over the past few months would put pressure on inflation and forecast consumer prices would rise more than 6% during the course of 2014.


16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ukraine 'Detains Russian Attache For Spying'

Ukraine Mine: Militia Controls Million Weapons

Updated: 11:37pm UK, Wednesday 30 April 2014

By Stuart Ramsay, Chief Correspondent, in Ukraine

At the end of a completely anonymous road on the outskirts of the eastern Ukrainian town of Artemivsk is the village of Paraskoviyevka.

It has two claims to fame: one of the few still functioning salt mines in the region, and, more importantly, the largest cache of weapons in Europe - over a million of them and they are under the control of separatists.

Outside the gates of the mine, a cluster of tents mark the pro-Russian checkpoint guarding the entrance to this enormous supply of weapons.

The militia say they started guarding the mine in March when efforts were made to move some of the weapons. They say they will not allow anyone to get their hands on them.

But military experts and government sources in Kiev have warned that such a ready supply should not be guarded by groups who wish to separate from the country.

The storage facility was created in the 1950s by the Soviet Union.

About 150 metres below ground and stretching horizontally for kilometres the weapons age back to World War Two but in the 1990s huge numbers of Kalashnikov machine guns were stored in the facility as well.

The men guarding the store say the conditions underground are dry and perfect for storage.

They say that the armaments, particularly the newer ones, are in perfect working order.

"If anyone got in there they could arm everyone in Ukraine," a masked separatist told me.

He added: "There are rifles, machine guns, heavy weapons and millions and millions of rounds of ammunition. We are here to stop the forces of the west and anyone else for that matter from getting their hands on them.

"For certain the fascists from Kiev won't get them."

The real point of this is that there is absolutely nothing anyone can do to take control of the store from the pro-Russia group.

Soldiers at a nearby camp are powerless here; their authority has gone and do nothing to move the blockade outside the mine.

To a degree this is a perfect microcosm example of what is happening across the east of the country.

Government institutions and police stations in virtually all the main towns and cities have fallen to the pro-Russia militia.

It is an extremely well-organised takeover. Armed and masked men arrive and disarm police before moving to town halls and regional buildings.

At gunpoint, they impose their authority before civilian activists move in and start building barricades.

Asked who the enemy are, the usual reply is "Fascists from Kiev".

The truth is there isn't a fascist horde wending its way out here.

It is a myth that has been propagated by self-appointed regional leaders with the help of Russian media, whose reporting of events is watched by most people here.

And it is a cross between hysterical warnings of armageddon and comic manipulation of facts and events; comic if people were not dying as a result, which they are.

This is getting increasingly nasty and once again there is nothing anyone can do about it.

In Donestsk, where pro-Kiev supporters have staged rallies of support, people have been beaten senseless and in one instance knifed to death by pro-Russian thugs.

The police do nothing to stop the attacks happening and, worse, there is more than a suspicion that they are in cahoots with the mob.

I have seen riot police clad in full protective gear hugging men who minutes earlier were beating an old man.

The Kiev administration admits its forces in the east are not able to intervene or are failing to do their jobs.

But the police themselves say they are getting no orders or guidance from Kiev.

Even if they don't like what is going on here, and many admit they do, they have no intention of taking a beating, or worse, by stick-wielding groups and armed masked men.

From Kiev, they are warning of an imminent invasion by Russian forces and have put their troops on full alert.

But these soldiers are in truth utterly incapable of resistance to an army, or, as we have seen, even a militia.

Eastern Ukraine is drifting away and it seems there is nothing anyone can do to stop it - just like Crimea.


16.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ukraine: US And Nato Build-Up 'Worries' Russia

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 30 April 2014 | 16.15

Who's Who On Latest Sanctions US And EU List

Updated: 11:00am UK, Tuesday 29 April 2014

The US has targeted seven of President Vladimir Putin's "cronies" in a new round of sanctions over the Ukraine crisis.

The Russian and Ukrainian individuals have been hit with visa bans and freezing of any US assets.

Some 17 companies were also named by the US Treasury.

Igor Sechin - President Putin's friend and head of oil giant Rosneft.

Oleg Belavencev - Mr Putin's presidential envoy to Crimea

Dmitry Kozak - Deputy prime minister of the Russian Federation, responsible for overseeing the integration of the annexed Crimea into Russia

Evgeniy Murov - Director of Russia's federal protective service

Aleksei Pushkov - A state Duma deputy

Vyacheslav Volodin - A Putin adviser

Sergei Chemezov - A Putin ally and head of Rostec, a Russian state-owned high-tech products company.

The European Union has also released a list of 15 politicians and military leaders that will be subject to asset freezes and travel bans.

The EU had already sanctioned 33 Russians and Ukrainians in protest at Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region in March.

The 15 new names are:

Dmitry Kozak

Oleg Belavencev

Oleg Savelyev - Minister for Crimean Affairs responsible for the integration of Crimea into Russia

Sergei Menyailo - Acting governor of the Ukrainian annexed city of Sevastopol

Olga Kovatidi - Member of the Russian Federation Council from Crimea

Lyudmila Shvetsova - Deputy chairman of the State Duma, responsible for initiating legislation to integrate Crimea into Russia

Sergei Neverov - Deputy chairman of the state Duma, responsible for law to integrate Crimea into Russia

Igor Sergun - Director of GRU (Main Intelligence Directorate), deputy Chief of the general staff of Russia's armed forces. He is responsible for GRU officers in Eastern  Ukraine

Valery Gerasimov - Chief of the general staff of Russia's armed forces, first deputy minister of defence, army general responsible for "massive deployment" of Russian troops along the border with Ukraine

German Prokopiv - Active leader of the Lugansk Guard who took part in the seizure of the building of the Lugansk regional office of the Security Service

Valeriy Bolotov - One of the leaders of the separatist group Army of the South-East, which occupied the building of the Security Service in the Lugansk region

Andriy Purgin - Head of the "Donetsk Republic", active organiser of separatist actions, co-ordinator of actions of the "Russian tourists" in Donetsk.

Denys Pushylin - One of the leaders of the Donetsk People's Republic. Participated in the seizure and occupation of the regional administration. Spokesman for the separatists

Tsyplakov Gennadevich - One of the leaders of "ideologically radical organisation", the People's Militia of Donbass. He took part in the seizure of state buildings in the Donetsk region

Igor Strelkov - From the main intelligence directorate of the general staff of Russia's armed forces. He was involved in incidents in Sloviansk. He is an assistant on security issues to Sergey Aksionov, self-proclaimed prime-minister of Crimea.


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Clippers Fans Demand Owner Sterling Sells Team

By Greg Milam, US Correspondent

Fans of the Los Angeles Clippers have demanded that disgraced owner Donald Sterling be forced to sell the team over his racist comment shame.

Civil rights groups joined Clippers fans before the team's home match last night to welcome the NBA's decision to ban Sterling for life.

The protest was staged to show that "Donald Sterling's comments do not represent Los Angeles and the millions of collective voices of minorities who call Los Angeles home".

There was widespread support for the call by the NBA administrator Adam Silver for Sterling to be forced to sell.

People hold signs before the NBA playoff game 5 between Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers in Los Angeles Fans hold signs before the Clippers' game against the Golden State Warriors

"He might be banned from the games, but he is sitting at home counting the money," said one fan.

The fury at Sterling's comments, in which he asked his then-girlfriend not to bring black people to games, has reached everywhere from the White House to rappers and sports stars, and even the Clippers' city rivals the LA Lakers.

Outside of the Clippers' Staples Center home, Michael Smith, a long-time Lakers fan who used to perform in half-time shows, held up a sign asking: "What about black people who have given their lives in the service of this country?"

NBA: Playoffs-Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Clippers The Clippers took on the Golden State Warriors in Los Angeles

He told Sky News: "Obviously he was ranting, but what is bad is that he didn't make any distinction. There are good and bad people of all colours. We have black police officers in this city, good people."

Another fan was more blunt: "Why aren't the Clippers players out here protesting with us? They are the ones he's insulting as well."

Joe Crew arrived for the Clippers game with a black shirt and team jersey inside out.

He told Sky News: "I felt a hundred different emotions when I heard that recording. Did they do the right thing in banning him? You bet. 100%."

Basketball chiefs have said they will attempt to force him to sell the team but Sterling, who is the longest standing owner in the sport, has reportedly told friends that the Clippers are "not for sale".

Potential buyers for the Clippers, who are valued at $575m, include basketball legend Magic Johnson and entertainment mogul David Geffen. Both have expressed their interest.

Throughout the day the Clippers website featured a black page and the message: "We are one".

Former NBA star Kevin Johnson, now of the mayor of California's capital city Sacramento, said: "I believe that today stands as one of those great moments where sports once again transcends, where sports provides a place for fundamental change on how our country should think and act."


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MH370 Debris Discovery Claims Dismissed

Claims that wreckage from the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 may have been found in the Bay of Bengal have been dismissed by Australian authorities.

Marine exploration company GeoResonance reportedly said it had detected elements on the ocean floor consistent with material from a Boeing 777 aircraft.

"We identified chemical elements and materials that make up a Boeing 777," company representative Pavel Kursa told Australia's Channel Seven.

"These are aluminium, titanium, copper, steel alloys and other materials."

Australia's PM Abbott speaks to the media after meeting with Japan's PM Abe at the state guest house in Tokyo Australian PM Tony Abbott has conceded the aircraft may never be found

But his colleague David Pope downplayed the find. He told the broadcaster: "We're not trying to say that it definitely is MH370, however it is a lead we feel should be followed up."

Malaysia's acting transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein confirmed the new information would be analysed but Australian authorities who are at the forefront of the search dismissed any link.

"The location of MH370 suggested by the GeoResonance report (in the Bay of Bengal) is not in the Australian search and rescue zone," a spokesman for Australia's Joint Agency Coordination Centre said.

The search for the missing plane is concentrated in an area of some 21,600 square miles (56,000 sq km) of the Indian Ocean.

Marine experts have deployed an unmanned deep-sea submarine to scour the sea bed in an effort to locate the black box recorders from the missing aircraft.

But Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has conceded that after 56 days of searching it is possible that no trace of the missing aircraft may ever be found.

"Of course it's possible, but that would be a terrible outcome because it would leave families with a baffling uncertainty forever," he said.

"The aircraft plainly cannot disappear - it must be somewhere," he added.


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Severe Storms Kill Nine People In US South

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 29 April 2014 | 16.15

Violent storms across southern America have killed at least nine people, as tornadoes and severe weather systems continue to lash the US.

Officials say up to seven people died in Mississippi when further wild weather tore through the state.

In Alabama, a further two deaths have been confirmed after a tornado caused major damage to the city of Athens.

Emergency director Rita White said more victims may be trapped in the wreckage of damaged buildings.

Rescuers are yet to reach some areas due to downed power lines.

Volunteers start clearing trees off cars from a parking lot in the Joyner neighborhod after a tornado ripped through the area in Tupelo Mississippi Volunteers begin to clear trees off cars in Tupelo, Mississippi

The severe weather comes after a series of tornadoes and violent storms lashed central and mid-western states on Sunday.

Seventeen people have so far been confirmed dead from the weekend storms, which saw more than a dozen tornadoes damage buildings, overturn trucks and bring down trees.

National Guard troops have been mobilised in the worst-hit areas and rescue crews continue to search debris for victims.

The tornadoes struck Arkansas, Oklahoma, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri and Louisiana.

Maggie Caro, her husband and two children were among some of the last people to reach safety inside a fortified school gymnasium as a tornado ripped through Vilonia, Arkansas.

She said: "They were screaming, 'Run! Run! It's coming!'"

People walk down Green Street to the corner of North Gloster Street after a tornado went through Tupelo Mississippi Severe storms have struck many US states in recent days

The half-mile-wide tornado carved an 80-mile path of destruction through the small community just north of Little Rock, killing at least 14 people and flattening homes.

Officials said they expect the overall death toll to rise as crews continue to sift through debris.

Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe said officials did not yet have a count of the missing.

Vilonia Mayor James Firestone said: "It's chaos right now."

A separate twister killed one person in Quapaw, Oklahoma, on Sunday evening, before crossing into Kansas, where it destroyed more than 100 homes and businesses and injured 25 people in the city of Baxter Springs.

President Barack Obama, who is currently in the Philippines, pledged federal assistance to the hard-hit communities.

He said: "Your country will be there to help you recover and rebuild, as long as it takes."


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North Korea Holds Live-Fire Drills Near Border

North Korea has carried out live-fire drills in two areas near the disputed Yellow Sea border with the South, which told its island residents to take cover in shelters.

The Pyongyang regime fired artillery close to the Northern Limit Line (NLL) but no rounds appear to have landed south of it.

The drills came hours after North Korea told Seoul of the areas near populated South Korean islands where it would be conducting the exercise.

A map showing the de facto maritime border between the two Koreas A red line marks the Korean peninsula's de facto maritime border

Last month, it carried out similar drills close to the NLL, firing more than 500 artillery rounds, including over 100 that landed south of the border.

The move led to the South firing hundreds of rounds back into the North's waters.

The NLL is an extension of the land border between the two Koreas, stretching into the sea west of the Korean peninsula.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un North Korea leader Kim Jong Un

It was drawn up by the US-led UN Command without Pyongyang's consent after the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended with a truce rather than a peace treaty, leaving the peninsula still technically at war.

The North has refused to recognise the line as the sea border and has periodically challenged the South by violating it and demanding a new border be set further to the south.

The existing line curves northwards, effectively isolating five remote, South Korean-controlled islands from the mainland.

The furthest of those islands is closer to Pyongyang than Seoul.

The South has increased its military presence on the islands after four people died during the 2010 bombardment of Yeonpyeong island by the North, which it said was in response to its rival's artillery drills.

Seoul officials have claimed the North could be preparing for its fourth nuclear test and US President Barack Obama recently warned Pyongyang against such a measure.


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Ukraine: Russia Denounces New US Sanctions

Who's Who On Latest Sanctions US And EU List

Updated: 10:06am UK, Tuesday 29 April 2014

The US has targeted seven of President Vladimir Putin's "cronies" in a new round of sanctions over the Ukraine crisis.

The Russian and Ukrainian individuals have been hit with visa bans and freezing of any US assets.

Some 17 companies were also named by the US Treasury.

Igor Sechin - President Putin's friend and head of oil giant Rosneft.

Oleg Belavencev - Mr Putin's presidential envoy to Crimea

Dmitry Kozak - Deputy prime minister of the Russian Federation, responsible for overseeing the integration of the annexed Crimea into Russia

Evgeniy Murov - Director of Russia's federal protective service

Aleksei Pushkov - A state Duma deputy

Vyacheslav Volodin - A Putin adviser

Sergei Chemezov - A Putin ally and head of Rostec, a Russian state-owned high-tech products company.

The European Union has also released a list of 15 politicians and military leaders that will be subject to asset freezes and travel bans.

The EU had already sanctioned 33 Russians and Ukrainians in protest at Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region in March.

The 15 new names are:

Dmitry Kozak

Oleg Belavencev

Oleg Savelyev - Minister for Crimean Affairs responsible for the integration of Crimea into Russia

Sergei Menyailo - Acting governor of the Ukrainian annexed city of Sevastopol

Olga Kovatidi - Member of the Russian Federation Council from Crimea

Ludmila Shvetsova - Deputy chairman of the State Duma, responsible for initiating legislation to integrate Crimea into Russia

Sergei Neverov - Deputy chairman of the state Duma, responsible for law to integrate Crimea into Russia

Igor Sergun - Director of GRU (Main Intelligence Directorate), deputy Chief of the general staff of Russia's armed forces. He is responsible for GRU officers in Eastern  Ukraine

Valery Gerasimov - Chief of the general staff of Russia's armed forces, first deputy minister of defence, army general responsible for "massive deployment" of Russian troops along the border with Ukraine

German Prokopiv - Active leader of the Lugansk Guard who took part in the seizure of the building of the Lugansk regional office of the Security Service

Valeriy Bolotov - One of the leaders of the separatist group Army of the South-East, which occupied the building of the Security Service in the Lugansk region

Andriy Purgin - Head of the "Donetsk Republic", active organiser of separatist actions, co-ordinator of actions of the "Russian tourists" in Donetsk.

Denys Pushylin - One of the leaders of the Donetsk People's Republic. Participated in the seizure and occupation of the regional administration. Spokesman for the separatists

Tsyplakov Gennadevich - One of the leaders of "ideologically radical organisation", the People's Militia of Donbass. He took part in the seizure of state buildings in the Donetsk region

Igor Strelkov - From the main intelligence directorate of the general staff of Russia's armed forces. He was involved in incidents in Sloviansk. He is an assistant on security issues to Sergey Aksionov, self-proclaimed prime-minister of Crimea.


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American State At War Over Abortion Rights

Written By Unknown on Senin, 28 April 2014 | 16.15

By Amanda Walker, US Correspondent, in Jackson, Mississippi

A court in New Orleans will hear arguments today that could result in the closure of Mississippi's only abortion clinic.

The case is just one of many abortion battles being fought across the US. In several states laws are being passed that restrict the right to choose by imposing new limits on abortion.

You can't miss Jackson Women's Clinic - the big, pink building sits on a hill where protesters carry banners showing images of aborted foetuses.

It's the only abortion facility in the entire state of Mississippi.

Up to 40 women come here each day. Some are teenagers from the poorest parts of the state; others are working women with families.

Abortion promo

What they all have in common is that none of them want to be here. Each woman has to have a scan to determine the age of the foetus.

Shonda, 19, lies back as gel is applied to her stomach. The image of her unborn baby appears on the screen and she can't look.

It is 12 weeks and six days old. Her eyes overflow with tears. Shonda says she has no choice but to have an abortion because she was raped.

For the women, actually getting inside the clinic is the first challenge. A permanent rotation of anti-abortion protesters stand outside and confront them as they enter.

Berkeley Ostrand says God "put it on her heart" to save babies. She approaches women in their cars, showing them a plastic model of a 12-week-old foetus.

Abortion Anti-abortion campaigner Berkeley Ostrand at the Jackson Women's Clinic

"Little hands, little feet ... It breaks your heart. The women look at this and this is a real baby to them.

"We try to make them realise this is a real baby, not just a blob of tissue - it has a beating heart, it has fingers and toes."

A team of escorts - mainly volunteers - are on a mission to stop the women being approached by the constant rotation of anti-abortion protesters.

Betty Thompson, the chief counsellor at the clinic, says its survival is constantly under threat.

"We have had it rough trying to stay in compliance, trying to follow everything to the letter of the law and we have been very successful at doing that.

Abortion The women's clinic is under constrant threat from campaigners

"The need that women have for this health service is not going to go away."

The clinic is struggling to stay open amid sweeping measures to restrict abortion across the US.

Ultrasound technician Stephanie Battle says if they are shut down, she believes women will resort to desperate measures.

"They will drink bleach, turpentine; anything that they think will make them have an abortion. Fall down some steps, have somebody kick them, and probably even go back to the coat hanger."


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MH370: 'Highly Unlikely' Debris Will Be Found

Missing Plane: 13 Things You Need To Know

Updated: 7:33am UK, Thursday 13 March 2014

As the search for Flight MH370 continues, we answer 13 questions about the disappearance and what could have happened.

When did the plane disappear?

Flight MH370 vanished from radars early on Saturday local time, an hour into a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. When it last made contact, the jet was cruising at 35,000 feet over the South China Sea.

There are reports that the plane tried to turn around, but this would give rise to the question why didn't the pilot communicate this decision to air traffic control? Meanwhile, at an undisclosed time a relative reportedly managed to call one of the passengers. Investigators have repeatedly tried to call the same number without success.

Who was on board?

The plane's manifest contained 12 crew members from Malaysia and 227 passengers from 14 different countries.

There were 153 Chinese, 38 Malaysians, seven Indonesians, six Australians, five Indians, four French, three Americans, two each from Iran (both travelling on fake passports), New Zealand, Ukraine and Canada, and one each from Russia, Taiwan and The Netherlands.

Among the passengers was a 19-strong group of prominent artists returning from an exhibition in Malaysia. Five children - aged two to four - were on board. The oldest person on the plane was 79.

What are the main theories?

Mechanical error remains the most likely explanation. Poor conditions and strong turbulence always have to be considered, but weather conditions were good in this instance. Four areas of investigation are focused on the possibility of human involvement: hijacking, sabotage, psychological problems or personal problems with passengers or crew.

Could there have been a mechanical error?

Inquiries into Air France Flight 447 that dived into the Atlantic Ocean in 2009 en route from Brazil to Paris, killing 228 people, blamed both technical and human error.

However, in the event of engine failure, a plane such as the Boeing 777-200 could glide for 80-90 miles (128-145km), giving the pilot time to issue a distress signal. The descent would also have been traced by radars. The lack of any Mayday call makes an explosion a possibility.

Could the plane have broken up in the air?

The apparent lack of wreckage from MH370 does point to a high-altitude disaster. In such an event the debris would be spread far and wide, making it difficult to find.

A smaller debris field would indicate the plane probably fell intact, breaking up on impact with the water. In the event of a sudden loss of pressure due to a window blowing out the crew would dive the plane in order to lose altitude - but this would not cause the plane to disintegrate.

How about the plane's safety record?

Sudden, accidental, structural failures are considered extremely unlikely in today's passenger aircraft. This is especially so with the Boeing 777-200, which has one of the best safety records of any jet.

One of the missing plane's wingtips was clipped in an incident while taxiing in 2012, but it was repaired and certified as safe.

Could it have been a terrorist attack or hijacking?

In the event of a hijacker trying to enter the cockpit, a pilot can send a secret distress code - something that wasn't done on Flight MH370.

The profiles of all 239 passengers are being checked against databases worldwide, but the terrorism theory was weakened on Tuesday when Malaysian police confirmed it had identified the two passengers who were travelling on fake passports. Both were said to be seeking asylum in Europe.

In the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, claims of responsibility came soon after the disaster - but no one has come forward to claim the Malaysia incident as their attack.

Human error?

The 53-year-old pilot was experienced, having amassed more than 18,000 flying hours since being employed by the airline in 1981.

However, in Indonesia in 2007, Adam Air Flight 574 disappeared with 102 passengers during a domestic flight, where the authorities found the pilots lost control after becoming preoccupied with malfunctioning navigational equipment.

Former naval pilot Dr Simon Mitchell told Sky News: "We've expended billions of dollars on developing very sophisticated aids to make the life of the pilot safer and more straightforward, but there are still opportunities whereby mistakes can be made."

Why was there no distress signal?

One explanation is that the plane fell into a communications black spot. Former Boeing 777 instructor and United Airlines captain Ross Aimer explained: "These are very sophisticated (items of) equipment that should have been working under any conditions - in the water, in the jungle, after a fire, after an explosion - and none of them have talked to the outside world yet.

"There are spots in the world, however, that are called blind spots, where you cannot communicate for some reason. Unfortunately, that area near Vietnam, over the Gulf of Thailand, those are some of the black spots."

Where is the search taking place?

A number of aircraft and ships have been taking part in the search in the seas off Vietnam and Malaysia. Search teams from Australia, China, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, New Zealand and the US are assisting.

Officials said on Tuesday that the search was being conducted on both sides of Vietnam's Ca Mau peninsula. The search area has been expanded from 50 nautical miles from where the plane disappeared - over waters between Malaysia and Vietnam - to 100 nautical miles (115 miles; 185km).

This expansion was a result of a new report from the Malaysian military, which said it tracked the plane in the Strait of Malacca - a long distance from where it last made contact - in the hours following its disappearance.

Why has no wreckage been found?

Whatever caused the apparent crash, there would be some debris - but it could take a while to find. It took two years to find the main wreckage of Air France Flight 447 in 2009.

In 2007, in the case of the Adam Air flight, it was a week before an Indonesian naval vessel detected metal on the ocean floor. It was a further two weeks before the US Navy picked up signals from the flight data and cockpit recorders and seven months for the recorder to be recovered.

If the plane had crashed on land, chances are the wreckage would have been found by now. At sea, much of the plane would have sunk, but some debris should remain on the surface. But the longer the search takes the harder it becomes as the wind and tide spread any debris further from the initial crash zone.

Could the flight data recorder provide answers?

As well as wreckage, search teams are looking for the aircraft's emergency locator transmitter (ELT) - though these do not always work if a plane hits water. However, attached to the plane's "black box" is a device known as a pinger. This can emit radio signals deep underwater for up to 30 days - or 40 days in warm water.

Has a plane ever simply vanished?

Since the start of the jet age in the 1950s, nearly every major aircraft that disappeared was found - eventually - and the rare exceptions did not involve passengers.

In September 1990, a Boeing 727 plunged into the North Atlantic after running out of fuel. The accident was attributed to poor pilot planning and the wreck was never recovered.

Another Boeing 727 transporting diesel to diamond mines in Africa took off without clearance and with its transponder turned off. It is believed to have crashed in the Atlantic Ocean.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.


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US Tornado Swarm Inflicts Mass Casualties

At least 12 people have been killed and many more injured in the United States after a powerful storm system saw tornadoes rip through Arkansas and Oklahoma.

A dozen or more twisters tore through central and southern parts of the country, decimating buildings, overturning trucks, and bringing down trees and power lines.

National Guard troops have been mobilised in the worst-hit areas, and rescue workers have been combing through debris searching for victims, as forecasters warned more twisters were on their way.

Tornadoes have also hit in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri, causing damage

President Barack Obama has sent his condolences to those affected and pledged any assistance necessary.

Homes in Arkansas have been destroyed by a tornado The deadly twisters have had a devastating impact on communities

Mr Obama, who is currently in the Philippines, said: "Your country will be there to help you recover and rebuild, as long as it takes."

Arkansas Emergency Management official Brandon Morris told Sky News 11 people were killed by the large tornado which struck through the state.

The tornado formed outside Little Rock and travelled for 30 miles, carving a destructive path.

Television footage from the scene showed badly-damaged buildings and cars.

In Mayflower, one person was killed and 45 homes were destroyed.

City alderman Will Elder said: "It's extremely hazardous here right now. The power lines are down, roads are blocked and they (emergency services) will have to proceed with caution."

An earlier tornado in the town of Quapaw, in Oklahoma, also left one person dead and at least six people injured.

Joe Dan Morgan, of Ottawa County Emergency Management, said there was heavy damage in the town.

"It looks like about half of (the) town got extensive damage as well as the fire department," he said.

Emergency crews were combing through debris in those towns hit hardest by the tornadoes, as forecasters warned more twisters were on their way.

James Firestone, mayor of  the Arkansas town of Velonia said: "It's chaos right now."

He said the downtown area "seems like it's completely levelled."

He added: "There's a few buildings partially standing, gas lines spewing. Fire lines down. We've had some casualties."

Firefighters from nearby cities as well as National Guard troops were heading to the town to help, and the county sheriff's office said a "mass casualty situation" had been reported.

US Representative Tim Griffin said: "Tonight, I walked around what was only hours earlier a thriving neighbourhood that is now gone.

"An entire neighbourhood of 50 or so homes has been destroyed - many homes are completely gone except the foundation.

"And there is more devastation like this in other parts of Arkansas."

Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe wrote on Twitter: "It's been a truly awful night for many families, neighbourhoods and communities, but Arkansas always step up to help each other recover."

More follows...


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US Reassures Europe Of Nato's 'Ironclad' Support

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 27 April 2014 | 16.15

America has reassured its East European allies of Nato's support as the worst post-Cold War stand-off between Russia and the West continues.

US Vice President Joe Biden phoned Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka and Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban and "underscored the ironclad commitment of the US" to the collective defence of Nato members.

They "agreed that Russia would face further costs for its destabilising actions in Ukraine and massing of troops along the Russian-Ukrainian border," the White House said.

The US has ruled out sending American or Nato forces into Ukraine, but has begun deploying 600 US troops to bolster defences in the nearby countries of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State John Kerry is urging Russia to help free a team of international military observers in eastern Ukraine.

Eight members of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) were travelling with five Ukrainian troops when they were detained by separatists in the flashpoint town of Slavyansk.

An armored personnel carrier is seen near a barricade around the state security service building in Slaviansk A barricade around the state security service building in Slavyansk

Pro-Russian gunmen plan to use them as a "human shield" and are "co-ordinating activities with Russia" - according to the Ukraine Security Service.

Moscow said it would take "all possible steps" to free the military monitors as their capture was condemned by Western leaders.

However, rebels accused the observers of being "Nato spies" and vowed to continue holding them.

A team of negotiators is on its way to the town to meet its self-appointed mayor, Vyacheslav Ponomaryovt, to try and secure the release of the monitors.

It comes as Britain and other G7 nations agreed new sanctions against Russia.

Speaking at a news conference in Malaysia, US President Barack Obama said it was important for the world to send Russia a message.

"We're going to be in a stronger position to deter Mr Putin when he sees that the world is unified and the United States and Europe is unified rather than this is just a US-Russian conflict," he said.

He said Russia had not "lifted a finger" to get pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine to comply with an international agreement to defuse the crisis.

"In fact, there's strong evidence that they've been encouraging the activities in eastern and southern Ukraine," he said.

Senior EU diplomats are to hold an emergency meeting in Brussels on Monday to discuss sanctions against Moscow.


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South Korean PM Resigns Over Ferry Disaster

South Korea's Prime Minister has resigned over the government's handling of the ferry disaster that has left more than 300 people dead or missing.

Chung Hong-won said: "As I saw grieving families suffering with the pain of losing their loved ones and the sadness and resentment of the public, I thought I should take all responsibility as prime minister.

"There have been so many varieties of irregularities that have continued in every corner of our society and practices that have gone wrong.

"I hope these deep-rooted evils get corrected this time and this kind of accident never happens again."

A total of 115 passengers remain missing after the Sewol ferry sank on a trip from the port on Incheon to the holiday island of Jeju on April 16.

Family members of missing passengers onboard the sunken South Korean ferry Sewol, rest as they wait for news at a gymnasium in Jindo. More than 100 passengers remain missing

The death toll stands at 187.

The resignation has to be accepted by President Park Geun-hye.

Executive power largely rests with the president, so Mr Chung's offer appears to be largely symbolic.

Mr Chung was booed and had a water bottle thrown at him when he visited distraught parents the day after the tragedy.

There has been anger at the slow pace of the recovery mission and the frequent changes in information provided by the government.

A relative of a missing passenger onboard the capsized Sewol ferry cries at a port in Jindo. A relative of one of those on board cries as she waits for news

There have also been several reports in the South Korean media of bodies going to the wrong families, with the error sometimes being identified only after remains had been taken to a funeral home.

A total of 325 out of the 476 people on board were high school students. Around 250 are either confirmed or presumed dead.

The children on board were told to stay put in their cabins while they waited for further orders.

Divers are continuing to search for bodies believed to be trapped in the sunken vessel, but poor weather conditions and a powerful swell are complicating efforts.

Despite waves of up to nine feet (three metres) and near gale-force winds, 93 divers are trying to get into the ferry.

Divers in boat Search teams are battling harsh conditions in the hunt for bodies

A coastguard spokesman said: "The situation is very difficult due to the weather, but we are continuing search efforts, using the occasional calmer periods."

Around a quarter of the bodies recovered have been found in waters outside the vessel, and there are fears some of those who are missing might have drifted from the wreck.

On Saturday four more crew members were arrested.

All 15 members of the crew are in custody and face charges ranging from criminal negligence to abandoning passengers.


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Helicopter Crash: Five UK Service Members Die

Five military personnel killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan were UK service members, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.

They died when their Lynx aircraft crashed during a routine flight in Kandahar province in the south on Saturday.

Prime Minister David Cameron said today his "heart goes out to the families and friends of those killed in this terrible tragedy".

Three of the servicemen killed were from the Army Air Corps, based at RAF Odiham in Hampshire, the MoD said.

One was a Royal Air Force serviceman also based at RAF Odiham.

One was a member of the Army Reserve from 3 Military Intelligence Battalion, based in London.

Next of kin of all five servicemen have been informed.

Afghanistan The aircraft went down in the Takhta Pul district of Kandahar

Mr Cameron said: "Every British fatality is a source of deep sadness. This latest incident, which has cost the lives of five UK service personnel, brings home to us all once again how our armed forces continue to put their lives on the line to help the people of Afghanistan.

"I cannot pay high enough tribute to each and every one of them for the job that they do and the sacrifices that they make."

Major General Richard Felton, Commander Joint Helicopter Command, said: "It is with great sadness that we must confirm that five UK service personnel have been killed in this incident which, at this early stage, would appear to have been a tragic accident.

"Events like this, whilst mercifully rare, remind us of the risks our personnel face in their work in Afghanistan as we approach the conclusion of the combat mission later this year."

Kandahar provincial police spokesman Zia Durrani said the helicopter went down in the Takhta Pul district of Kandahar province, around 30 miles from the Pakistan border - and that it was not attacked by militants.

British Royal Navy Lynx Helicopters Lynx helicopters are deployed for a wide variety of operations

"It was doing military exercises and crashed as a result of technical fault," he said.

The helicopter involved was a Westland Lynx, an aircraft with a range of uses including transport and resupply.

Defence analyst Paul Beaver said: "It is difficult to speculate on what has happened. It could be weather related, it could be dust or it could have been trying to avoid birds, for example, or it could be some kind of mechanical failure.

"There is a whole range of possible causes."

The deaths bring the total number of UK service personnel to have been killed in Afghanistan to 453.

It is thought to be the third deadliest incident involving British forces in the war and the worst air disaster since September 2006, when 14 service personnel were killed in a Nimrod surveillance aircraft which exploded mid-air.


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